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Facebook and are two of the most popular social networking applications in the world, and they both have something new in common: they want to get into retail.

Although it may seem out of the blue, there’s an ample amount of potential for both Facebook and Twitter to make more money in the retail industry. Each of the social networks is testing a “buy” button that could be incorporated onto their sites for e-commerce purposes, according to CNBC.

Facebook is aiming to help out small businesses with a “buy” button that allows them to drive sales. Twitter simply wants to make it easier for people to make purchases though its “buy” button without leaving the website. Let’ take a closer look at the strides that each social network is making in terms of retail.

Facebook and Its E-Commerce Plan

If you’ve seen the “buy” button while scrolling through your Facebook page in recent weeks, you’ve got company. Wired magazine reported that Facebook started testing the “buy” button in mid-July, and it continues to roll out the button across the site.

With the “buy” button, users will be able to purchase goods and services from merchants on Facebook without having to leave the site – this is similar to Twitter’s experimentation with the button. Nicolas Franchet, Facebook’s global head of retail and e-commerce, has been working hard to transform Facebook into another place where people can shop. The “buy” button may be just the ticket, but the potential for profit goes beyond simple retail.

While many initially laughed at the prospect of Facebook being used for business, the site has become a go-to place for small companies and large corporations alike. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of people who claimed Facebook was critical to their business rose by 75%, according to HubSpot, and about 77% of B2C companies and 43% of B2B companies claim that they have gained customers through marketing on Facebook. Marketing and sales teams turn to Facebook to do everything from lead nurturing to prospecting, and the benefits are numerous, as I outlined in my article, “The Top 10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing.”

As the “buy” button rolls out, small businesses will benefit from the ability to complete a sales transaction instantaneously. If the “buy” button is incorporated into an advertisement, Facebook users only have to click on the button to make a purchase. In turn, the small business reduces the steps in the conversion funnel, increasing revenue along with the value of the ad.

“We’ve built this feature with privacy in mind, and have taken steps to help make the payment experience safe and secure,” Facebook says on its website. “None of the credit or debit card information people share with Facebook when completing a transaction will be shared with other advertisers, and people can select whether or not they’d like to save payment information for future purchases.”

Facebook is the ultimate winner in its e-commerce plan, but there’s no reason why companies shouldn’t capitalize on the potential to boost sales through Facebook advertisements with an integrated “Buy” button.

Twitter Moves Into Retail

Twitter has managed to transform the hashtag symbol into a part of everyday life, on and off the Internet. Now that the site is attempting to move into the retail world, it’s easy to see why it won’t have much of a struggle.

Twitter has more than 180 million unique visitors each day, and 55 million tweets are sent out every 24 hours. Casual users, brands, celebrities, and marketing teams alike have embraced Twitter for a number of reasons, but one thing is certain: it facilitates connections and relationships. Businesses can use Twitter to build and nurture their audience, and now that Twitter is experimenting with a “buy” button, making a sale will be just as simple. Twitter recently acquired Cardspring, a payment company that allows individuals to sync their credit cards to online coupons. This gives consumers the opportunity to cash in discounts at checkout when they’re shopping at a physical retail space.

Once Cardspring is integrated into Twitter, users may only need to click a button in a tweet to sync a discount with their credit card. This eliminates the need to retweet a hashtagged phrase or word in order to receive a discount – the old way of doing e-commerce on Twitter.

Although Twitter’s grand plan for Cardspring has not been revealed just yet, it’s worth noting the potential that a “buy” button could bring to the website.

“We see the intersection of payments and digital media as an opportunity to revolutionize how consumers use credit and debit cards, while helping retailers to connect and communicate with their offline shoppers - much in the same way the Internet has enabled online stores to create relationships with their online customers,” Cardspring said in a blog post.